A Sudden Turn of Events

Following Commander Yun's list, Shen Shouli selected the Federation's S-class students as his opponents, one by one.

Jin watched in awe as Shen Shouli gave his all, taking down five opponents in a row, counting the first Federation student he'd singled out at the start.

The four S-class students each fell within fifteen to twenty minutes. By the time the fourth was finished, Shen Shouli's Chi Ren had only taken 38% damage.

"Master Shen is out to set a record today," Guan Chuanjun said through gritted teeth. Shen Shouli had stolen the spotlight again, and with Admiral Wan and Admiral Shen watching from outside, the brat was clearly doing this on purpose.

"What do you think?" Jin whispered to his commander.

Xu Lingqu glanced up, puzzled. "About what?"

Jin sighed. Shen Shouli's spectacular performance today was lost on an audience of one who couldn't care less. Casting pearls before swine, indeed.

"Nothing. Just that in some ways, you two are a good match."

That came out of nowhere.

Xu Lingqu assumed he was talking nonsense again and turned her attention back to the arena.

The sixth opponent Shen Shouli chose was Jia Xianglan.

Jia Xianglan stepped out from among the Federation students without hurrying. He had submitted a request to modify his mech's weapons, and he walked to the podium below the arena to signal the staff.

Jia Tu shot him a meaningful glance, and they exchanged a look before Jia Xianglan climbed onto the stage without a hint of fear, summoning a modified Chen Dao mech.

"It doesn't look modified at all. Aren't modifications supposed to be publicly announced? Has anyone seen the announcement for his weapon modification?" Yun Yao, already eliminated, looked confused.

"They said it was announced shortly after midnight last night," Yun Zhongxiao said, her face dark. She had sent someone to check immediately but got a dismissive, perfunctory reply.

Guan Chuanjun snorted. "But Shen Shouli can handle trash like Jia Xianglan easily, right? No need to worry about weapon modifications or not."

Comparing their raw strength, Shen Shouli clearly had a crushing advantage over Jia Xianglan. Even with some damage already, Shen Shouli should handle him with ease.

Most people thought the same, which was why Yun Zhongxiao didn't request a fresh mech for Shen Shouli, planning to swap after this match.

Jia Xianglan, however, brimmed with confidence. He launched Chen Dao into a ferocious assault against Chi Ren, but his technique was so clumsy that Shen Shouli sent him flying with a single kick, slamming him hard into the energy barrier.

The audience gasped, nearly ending up pinned beneath Jia Xianglan's Chen Dao from their perspective.

Jia Tu's face remained impassive.

Jia Xianglan got up and charged again. This time, he wasn't immediately knocked away, and they exchanged particle cannon fire. At the critical moment, Liu Ming transformed into a small white orb of light and, seizing the moment when everyone's attention was on the fight, flew to Xu Lingqu's ear.

"We're doomed! We're doomed! This Jia Xianglan's mech data is off!" Liu Ming immediately spotted something wrong with the replicated Chen Dao's stats.

Just as Shen Shouli was about to kick him a second time, the defense value of Jia Xianglan's replicated Chen Dao spiked drastically, allowing him to withstand the attack, then reverted to normal right after.

That was why Jia Tu was so calm. He had resorted to every means, cheating with such blatant audacity!

But this kind of cheating was hard for ordinary people to spot, because Jia Tu had colluded with the staff managing replicated mech data at the main company. They had studied the plan for a long time before settling on it, and afterward they would tamper with the anomalous data to avoid forensic investigation.

"How dare they do this? If this comes out, the credibility of Sky Network's replicated mech business will be shattered. They'll have to scrap it entirely. If the data can be tampered with, why even bother replicating mechs? This cheating scandal, and the league that Sky Network values most, won't be able to continue either... This Jia Tu is absolutely rotten," Liu Ming chattered by Xu Lingqu's ear.

Xu Lingqu wasn't the only one in the arena to notice something off. Shen Shouli, in the middle of combat, also sensed something wrong.

Though nothing seemed fundamentally off, he felt Jia Xianglan grow unusually stronger at key moments. For instance, that last strike should have finished him, but he blocked it with one hand.

Shen Shouli knew Jia Xianglan was up to something, but he couldn't pinpoint exactly what. He could only frown and continue trading blows.

Chen Dao was a mech better suited for long-range combat, yet Jia Xianglan's every move today aimed to close in for close quarters. He stuck to Shen Shouli like glue, closing the distance to where particle cannons were useless, forcing hand-to-hand combat.

Shen Shouli delivered a devastating elbow strike to Jia Xianglan, then, following the momentum, moved to fling him away. Jia Xianglan's Chen Dao had already taken 60% damage, and a single throw would eliminate him.

At that moment, a sudden turn of events occurred.

The right upper arm of Jia Xianglan's Chen Dao was now pointed directly at Shen Shouli's cockpit. This was normally a harmless part of the mech, and the throwing motion required it, so Shen Shouli had lowered his guard and allowed it close to his cockpit.

Thus, Jia Xianglan's long-standing scheme finally came together. This was where his Chen Dao had been modified. He activated the weapon there, and a massive spike suddenly jutted out from the right upper arm, piercing straight through Shen Shouli's cockpit.

This sudden development terrified everyone, both in the virtual arena and in the real venue.

Shen Ruoshui, who had been joking around in high spirits, immediately turned cold. He slammed the new-style firearm in his hand hard onto the table, scaring the nearby Sky Network staff so much they nearly knelt on the spot.

There was no explicit written rule, but Sky Network had always maintained an unspoken understanding that students should not attack the cockpit, since it had 100% pain feedback.

But even so, Jia Xianglan's actions didn't technically violate any rules, and Shen Shouli was directly ruled defeated.

His cockpit had been pierced, meaning he experienced death itself. Because it was inside the virtual arena, the pain didn't fade with the loss of life like it would in reality.

He was feeling the agony of death, continuously, vividly.